Leader and founder of a mega-church in Zimbabwe, the United Family International Church (UFIC) – Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa – has left tongues wagging, yet again, after he told his horde of followers in a service that the Devil is not terrified by the omnipotent and omnipresent God in heaven.
In a minute long video clip shared on the prophet’s social platforms, Makandiwa, whose church is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, with exceptional emphasis said the Devil is, however, timid of a God in a man, and not a God in heaven.
“The idea that God is not interested in us; He can do everything by himself, it is a false revelation,” the prophet begins by inveighing.
“The Devil does not really really really really fear God in heaven, as much as he fears God in a man. We have seen him, the Devil, visiting God in the heavens, attending meetings uninvited. He would appear there, he never fell to the grounds, he never vomited. He was standing in the presence of a God who is in heaven.”
“But, I have seen demons falling in the presence of a God in a man,” said Makandiwa.
This is not the first time Prophet Makandiwa has openly aired an unpopular theological notion. Earlier this year, another short video surfaced online of him stoutheartedly claiming that he is going to heaven unfailingly, as he has already secured his place there.
In the 30 seconds video, Makandiwa said that if anyone goes to heaven and do not find him there, it’s unfortunate for them because it would not be heaven. Rather, it will be hell.
He said; ‘If you get to heaven, write this down, you get to Heaven and you don’t find me there, you have gone to hell. That’s not Heaven, because everything that should be done for a man to secure his life in eternity, I have done it. I have done it. I have done it.’
The video went viral with many online users posting it on their platforms and asking their followers what they think about what the cleric said.
The recent video arrives at a time when UFIC is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary and have had some people saying it is the 10th-anniversary stunt by the prophet.
Thousands of people are expected to throng the celebrations which will see various preachers and musicians gracing the event.
UFIC spokesman Pastor Prime Kufa recently told members of the media that the church will celebrate the milestone with a conference and dinner.
The anniversary will be held under the theme, ‘‘UFIC @ 10’’ at the church’s Chitungwiza Basilica between August 24 and 26 2018.
“We are expecting a bumper crowd just like we always experience at our conferences where there will be a feast of teaching, music and dance. It will be something out of this world. There will certainly be thousands of international visitors, which in part is a contribution towards religious tourism,” Pastor Kufa said.
Kufa said since August 2008, the church continued to grow with Sunday and Tuesday services attended by multitudes of Christians seeking the face of God.
He narrated, “Our tremendous journey began on 17 August 2008, when we had our first service at the Anglican Cathedral in the (Harare) central business district. We only managed to hold two services and we were oversubscribed. There was no space. We were thrown out of the venue and we move to the state lottery hall where we held our Sunday and Tuesday services.
“We had our first conference at the City Sports Centre in 2009 and it was packed. The venue had been abandoned and we cleaned it. The church grew rapidly until we bought tents from China. UFIC has grown to become one of the biggest churches and now hosts three services on Sundays — couples, Shona and youth services — to accommodate the huge numbers.
“The secret of UFIC’s success is our leaders Prophet Makandiwa and Prophetess Ruth; everything hinges on leadership because if they are not upright then the church cannot stand.”
The church has branches across the country and in other jurisdictions such as Botswana, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia and Zambia.
Pst Kufa revealed some challenges the church was facing.
“We have challenges in accessing land to build churches, especially in towns and cities except for Bulawayo and Mutare. Rural areas are relatively easier to get land,” he said.
“There has been tremendous progress in the construction of our Chitungwiza church, it’s about 80 per cent complete. The Chitungwiza Basilica was delayed by at least two years due to some technicalities. Prophet Makandiwa and his wife Prophetess Ruth are paying from their resources for the construction of the church. UFIC will then fund the building of the main church in Mt Hampden.”
In its 10-year journey, UFIC has assisted thousands of people through free medical services, payment of school fees to orphans under the charity arm — Agape.
Prophet Makandiwa has also ministered healing to the sick and several prophecies.
With additional reporting from the Sunday Mail
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